Brian Schottenheimer Leaves St. Louis Rams; Hopes for Improvement are Far-Fetched

On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator will be leaving the team to accept the same job (plus the quarterbacks coaching position) at the University of Georgia.

Despite the fact that head coach Jeff Fisher said after the conclusion of the season that he didn’t anticipate any changes on the coaching staff, there were still hopes from many Rams fans that the team would make a change at the offensive coordinator position. Those hopes were partially fueled by the fact that Fisher made a similar statement at the conclusion of the 2013 season, only to fire defensive coordinator Tim Walton in February and hire his longtime coaching partner, Gregg Williams, to fill the position.

While for many St. Louis sports fans, this move is reminiscent of the decision by Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith to accept the University of Tulsa’s basketball coaching job amidst rumors that he could be fired, it’s also worth noting that Schottenheimer has a clear desire to become a head coach at some point. He interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching job after the 2012 season and did the same at Vanderbilt University following 2013. Schottenheimer may believe that having a high-profile position for a successful collegiate program like Georgia’s will boost his chances of receiving a crack at a college head coaching gig.

Schottenheimer, whose greatest career highlight has been serving as the offensive coordinator for a New York Jets team that went to the AFC Championship Game in both 2009 and 2010, has led some rather pedestrian Rams offenses, albeit without the greatest wealth of talent. In 2014, the Rams’ offense was ranked 21st in points per game, 28th in overall yardage, 23rd in passing yards, and 20th in rushing. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that the Rams were without their projected starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, for the entire season, while their top receiver, Brian Quick, and their left tackle, Jake Long, were both knocked out for the year during the season’s seventh game.

While operating without Bradford for half the season and failing to get any significant contributions from his receivers in 2013, Schottenheimer led the NFL’s 30th-ranked offense, which was 27th in passing and 19th in rushing. It’s worth noting that despite their struggles to pick up tons of yardage, the Rams were a more pedestrian 21st in points per game during 2013, so Schottenheimer found ways for the team to score despite an overall lack of production.

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He had his greatest success in St. Louis during 2012 for a 7-8-1 Rams team that had a healthy Sam Bradford for a full year. Without any established playmakers at receiver or tight end, that group finished 18th in passing yards, while the duo of veteran Steven Jackson and unheralded rookie Daryl Richardson led a run game that finished 19th in rushing yards. Unfortunately, that team was the least successful at converting on their opportunities, as they finished 25th in scoring, averaging just 18.7 points per game.

While those numbers aren’t fantastic, Schottenheimer must be given a fair amount of credit for keeping the Rams offense above water while being forced to use a combination of Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis, and Shaun Hill for 25 of the 48 games during his Rams tenure, with former fourth-rounder Chris Givens serving as his most attractive receiving option for roughly 32 of them. While he was often criticized for his failure to fully utilize players like Tavon Austin and Jared Cook, particularly when he ran the 5-foot-8, 176-pound Austin between the tackles. At the same time, though, Schottenheimer did have some very creative calls that made the most of his quarterbacks’ limited abilities.

Considering the uncertainty at the quarterback position for the 2015, Rams fans shouldn’t be preparing themselves for a huge upgrade at offensive coordinator next season. With Fisher having 34 years in the NFL and 30 years of coaching experience under his belt, it might be unreasonable to expect him to hire someone who he has no connection to as an offensive coordinator. However, if he somehow decides to go down that road, there aren’t exactly a bunch of unemployed playcallers who have experienced monstrous success.

Marc Trestman, who was recently fired as the Chicago Bears’ head coach, seems to be the most sought-after offensive coordinator candidate this offseason. Trestman led a 2013 Bears squad that finished second in total offense (fifth in passing and 16th in rushing). However, his offense fell apart this past season, dropping to 21st overall. In addition, Trestman runs a very vertical scheme that is highly quarterback-oriented (see their immense drop-off this year with Jay Cutler‘s failure), and that approach wouldn’t really mesh with their current offensive talent.

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Other talked-about candidates for other teams with vacancies have included Minnesota Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson, Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Rick Dennison, Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and offensive line coach Mike Tice, Oakland Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano. Among that group, Dennison and Sparano’s offenses probably would fit the best with the Rams’ scheme, with Sparano being especially interesting considering the fact that he replaced Schottenheimer with the Jets in 2012.

Perhaps the most desirable outside candidate would be Greg Roman, who is likely to leave the San Francisco 49ers after Jim Harbaugh‘s departure and has operated a successful ground-and-pound Niners offense for the past several years. With that said, Roman will certainly receive interest from other teams, and joining a Rams staff that is on the bubble going into year four after three losing seasons and also faces the controversy regarding a possible move to Los Angeles probably won’t be the most attractive option available to him.

The guys who Fisher has a previous history with are by no means attractive options. Mike Heimerdinger, who was Fisher’s offensive coordinator in Tennessee for eight of his 17 years as head coach, died in 2011 following a battle with cancer. His only other offensive coordinator from Tennessee who is still of reasonable coaching age, Norm Chow, is 68 and has spent the past three years leading a highly unsuccessful University of Hawaii football program. Considering that Hawaii has announced their intention to retain Chow for 2015 and he’s coaching in his home state, it’s virtually impossible that Fisher and Chow would reunite next season.

Fisher could go after Mike Munchak, who is currently serving as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line coach and was on Fisher’s staff for the entirety of his time in Tennessee, but he has never had responsibility for calling plays during his 20-year coaching career. Fisher’s former quarterbacks coach with the Titans, Dowell Loggains, did nothing spectacular in his lone season as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2013.

Ultimately, the most likely option may end up being an in-house promotion. ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner mentioned tight ends coach Rob Boras as a possible candidate for a promotion, and quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti would also seem to be an option considering the quarterbacks coach’s traditional role as the right-hand man to the offensive coordinator.

Aside from a select few on that list above, there hasn’t been as much NFL success for the available candidates as Schottenheimer had when he was provided with some solid offensive talent in New York. So while Schottenheimer didn’t have the best of luck with the Rams, perhaps the fans who are delighted over his departure should consider that an equal or greater share of the blame lies on the players, rather than just the playcaller.

Next: Rams Closing Evaluations: Grading the Linebackers

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